Conventionally, a multiplicity of networked computers may share resources provided as common to all the computers on that network. An example of a shared resource is printing facilities.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional networked computer system with remote printing having a network 102 with two computers (104 and 106) and a shared printer 108. It is noted that there may be more than one printer and additional computers connected to the network 102. Since there is more than one computer on the network, all the computers can share the single printer.
In the conventional networked installation of FIG. 1, controlling the usage of the printer is minimal. For example, in a conventional system, a password or some such security mechanism may be required for a given user to be allowed to use the printer. However, such conventional network systems do not provide an easy process to control printer usage by that user at a level beyond allowed to use or not allowed to use, particularly if the printer is not co-located with one of the computers.
By limiting the control level to use or no use, conventional networked systems cannot impose restrictions on some of the resources associated with a printer. For example, it may be desirable to operate a color printer only during certain hours. Another example may be to require printing of long jobs in duplex, so as to save paper costs. Also, it may be desirable to control access to certain expensive media that is loaded in a printing device. The conventional network systems do not control the user's access to certain resources at this level.
While some resource restrictions may be controlled or imposed when creating a print job, it is not always possible to globally enforce such restrictions.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a resource control mechanism that is associated with a printer on a global basis so that resource restrictions can be controlled and enforced at the print site.